The Prevalence and Factors Associated With Depression, Burnout and Ptsd Among Humanitarian Aid Workers in Kakuma and Dadaab Refugee Camps.

Abstract

Background: The UN reports that 360 million people are in humanitarian need and these numbers have doubled in the last decade. This is a result of global strife which continues to grow disproportionate to the available resources to mitigate and recover from the crises. Humanitarian aid workers provide professional services to populations in crisis and their work has been cited as dangerous, volatile and unpredictable. Study objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of Depression, Burnout and PTSD and its associated factors among Humanitarian aid workers providing healthcare services in Dadaab and Kakuma Refugee camps. Study Methodology: A cross-sectional quantitative design was used to collect data from humanitarian aid workers recruited via a census survey. Data was collected using a researcher-designed socio-demographic questionnaire and adaptations from the psychometric tools that measure depression (BDI), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for burnout and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) checklist for DSM 5 –PCL 5. Data analysis and presentation: The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Univariate analysis, including frequencies, means, medians and standard deviations, was conducted. Bivariate analysis, using chi-square to determine statistical association between variables was utilized. Multiple binary logistic regression was performed to evaluate the strength and direction of these associations and to determine the odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals (CI) between dependent and independent variables. All findings were considered significant at p ≤ 0.05. The data was presented in figures, tables, pie charts ,and in prose. Importance of study: The delineation of the determinants and patterns of depression, burnout, and PTSD and their associated factors among humanitarian aid workers in Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps will help create programs and policies that are aimed at mitigating the incidence and course of these disorders, identify the modalities of management so as to make humanitarian aid workers safe providers of needed care. Study findings: This study shows that a significant number of humanitarian aid workers providing healthcare to refugees suffer from depression, PTSD and burnout and the factors contributing to this include high staff turnover, heavy workloads ,stressful shifts, lack of supervisor support and poor mental health seeking behavior